Two different US laws require disclosure of foreign accounts, use different forms, different thresholds, and get filed to different agencies — and confusing them is one of the most common ways NRIs end up non-compliant without realizing it.
FBAR (FinCEN Form 114): required if the combined balance of all your foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year — not on the last day, at any point. Filed separately to FinCEN, not attached to your tax return. Covers NRE, NRO, FCNR accounts, PPF, and most Indian savings/fixed deposit accounts where you have signature authority, even jointly held ones.
FATCA (Form 8938): attached to your actual tax return, with thresholds that vary by filing status and by whether you live in the US or abroad — generally starting around $50,000 for single filers living in the US, and substantially higher for those living abroad. Covers a broader category of "specified foreign financial assets," which can include certain foreign mutual funds, foreign pension-type accounts, and foreign stock held directly.
Why both can apply to the exact same account: an NRE fixed deposit worth ₹40 lakh could trigger FBAR reporting (well above the $10,000 threshold) while simultaneously needing to be evaluated for FATCA depending on your total foreign asset picture and filing status. Reporting one and not the other is one of the single most common gaps found in NRI streamlined cases.
Penalties for skipping each, outside a streamlined filing: FBAR penalties for non-willful failures can run up to $10,000 per account per year (inflation-adjusted); FATCA failures carry their own separate penalty structure under Form 8938. This is precisely why streamlined procedures exist — both sets of penalties are what SDOP's 5% and SFOP's 0% are designed to replace, provided the case genuinely qualifies as non-willful.
Practical starting point: list every Indian account, deposit, PPF, mutual fund, and insurance-linked investment you or a family member has signature authority over — then check each one against both thresholds separately. Most NRIs have never done this exercise even once.